This invention discloses a new and useful toilet seat hinge. Hinges for toilet seats have been known for many years, and are the subject of a considerable number of patented inventions. For example, the early patent of Bailey, U.S. Pat. No. 531,826 shows a toilet seat hinge which is similar to many hinges now in general use. Other inventions in this field have provided some degree of adjustability through the use of spring attachments, as exemplified in the patent to Kornhauser, U.S. Pat. No. 1,529,656.
Although many toilet bowls are of standardized dimensions, the distances between the holes in such bowls, which holes are adapted for bolting toilet seats to the bowls, are likely to vary according to the specifications of different manufacturers. But the hinges shown in the prior art allow for little or no adjustability to compensate for these variations. Rather, the hinge elements in the prior art are mounted a fixed distance apart. If the distance between these hinge elements does not match the distance between holes on the toilet bowl, the toilet seat cannot be properly mounted.
This problem of matching the hinge to the toilet bowl has been only partially ameliorated. For example, Carmichael, U.S. Pat. No. 2,032,257 provides a toilet seat hinge having some limited adjustability of distances between hinge elements. Similarly, Phillips, U.S. Pat. No. 2,846,697 deals with the problem of varying distances, and discloses an eccentric washer which compensates for minor variations in distances between holes. But the art cited herein addresses the problem only of small variations in hinge distance, and leaves unresolved the problem of attaching a given seat to toilet bowls having holes distances which vary considerably from bowl to bowl.
Part of the reason for the fixed nature of the hinges in the prior art is the desirability of rigid construction of the hinges. A toilet seat should not slide laterally over the bowl, nor should the toilet seat cover become displaced from its normal position. Therefore, any toilet seat hinge providing wide adjustability should also retain the same degree of sturdiness present in the non-adjustable forms found in the prior art.